Ms. Lewis’ Revolution Project Credibility of Resources/ Research Helps

Authority- Look at the URL Know your domains.edu.gov.com.mil.org.net

Authority—Credibility Has the root word “Author” Who wrote the book, article, or website? What are their credentials? (what makes them qualified to write on this subject?) Are they affiliated with a company or institution?

Where do you find the author? “about” section sometimes bottom of page “contact me” link FAQ section

Bias Do you see any bias in the website? Does the author have a slant or an angle? (Hint—can you tell if the author has a purpose?)

Bias Does the webpage or author have a sponsor? – Example: sponsored by the NRA Is there a logo of an organization on the page? Also check the “about” section and FAQs

Currency--Timeliness Is the resource up to date? When was it written/published? When was the website last updated? (how can you tell? Does it matter?

Does the Author cite Sources? Does he provide a list of sources he used? Does he link to other sources or sites?

Accuracy/Neatness Does the site have any grammar errors or spelling mistakes? Is it laid out in an understandable way? If someone is careless about these things, can you trust them to be accurate in their facts?

Wikipedia To use or not? What is a wiki? Why does that make Wikipedia a bad source?

Let’s Look at a Few Sites As

Good website to help check reliability of other sites FactcheckED.org Go to “Straight from the Source” section

Research Tips Starting place—Destiny Library catalog Review call numbers and how to locate books

Next important resource—Media Center Website – I’ve created a special page for you – You will also refer to other links on the Media Website